Ready for 20! Flo's Reading Challenge 2016

[Florien (flofairytales)]

20 books I shall try to read this year :) maybe I should aim for more, but who knows, 2016 shall be an adventure!

[Florien (flofairytales)]

I just finished my last book of 2015 yesterday. Now I'm ready for the first book for my 2016 challenge.
7/20

1. China Rich Girlfriend
2. Wolverine: Origin
3. The Martian
4. How To Be Parisian: Wherever You Are
5. The 5th Wave
6. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
7. The Picture of Dorian Gray
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.

[Kadijah Michelle]

China Rich Girlfriend looks so interesting! I can't wait to see what you think.

[Florien (flofairytales)]

Finished the first book of this years challenge.

1/20

1. Wolverine: Origin

Review: (Spoiler free)

Did anybody see the movie Wolverine?
Remember the beginning of the film?

That's basically this story, with an extra castmember called Rose.

The art work is lovely, the story is great (I love Marvel) and Wolverine was such a cute and innocent little boy before all hell broke loose.

Definitely worth a read (and to own if you love X-men). Time to get the second graphic novel of Wolverine origin

[Megan]

Yay for finishing your first book on January 1!

[Florien (flofairytales)]

Megan wrote: "Yay for finishing your first book on January 1!"

Thanks Megan! :)
(seeing as its a Graphic novel I sometimes doubt if it really counts as a book).
Also Happy New year!

[Megan]

Florien wrote: "Megan wrote: "Yay for finishing your first book on January 1!"

Thanks Megan! :)
(seeing as its a Graphic novel I sometimes doubt if it really counts as a book).
Also Happy New year!"

It totally counts! Happy New Year to you as well:)

[Florien (flofairytales)]

2/20
Finished the 2nd book of this year's challenge;
China rich girlfriend by Kevin Kwan

Review (Spoiler free):

4.5 stars actually.
Kevin Kwan, good sir, you did not let me down with this one!
I was hooked on it.

The right amount of various storylines (considering the amount of characters in this book I applaud you for keeping that to a mininal!)
Not to forgot those small surprising plot twists.
I loved it!!


A great sequal to Crazy Rich Asians.

[Florien (flofairytales)]

3/20
And that wraps up the 3rd book of this year's challenge. That's more than I expected I would read this month alone.... perhaps I should up the stakes (but let's not get ahead of oneself).

The Martian

Review (Spoiler free):

I started this book on the 16th and saw the movie a few days later. I hadn't finished the book yet so at first I was rather reluctant to watch the film (cause spoilers obviously), but I watched it anyway and finished the book as well. I still enjoyed the book very much and was quite surprised to see how the ending of the book is done in a different way than in the movie.
(don't worry it's a minor detail, and very hilarious that they went with that move in the movie as it is also mentioned in the book but never executed).

I can't bring myself to give this book 5 stars, and I don't know if that has anything to do with the fact that I sa the movie halfway through the book or if it was because of all of the detailed scientific explanation in the book, not that it wasn't understandable because it was very well explained (well done Andy Weir) it was simply too much.

The book overall was a quick read and highly enjoyable. I loved Watney's sense of humor and his overall positive attitude regarding the situation ('Astronauts are weird people' as is said in the book) and just the right amount of shit moods he goes through because even Watney can't be positive all the time (ugh, Disco).

Great story, great characters, good laughs. Give it a go :)

[Florien (flofairytales)]

4/20

Finished the 4th book of this year!
How To Be Parisian: Wherever You Are

Review > Spoiler free

4 stars! This was such an enjoyable book. A quick, easy-to-read, interesting book. This is a book I would leave on top of my coffee table so other people can skim trough it when visiting my house.

The whole book is like a big magazine about 4 women who explain what it is like to be Parisian. Whether or not all of the statements they make are true, at certain points I hope they're joking, this book makes you believe this is what Parisians are like.

I wouldn't call this a self-help book (to those who called it that in their respective reviews) but an in depth magazine about Paris and it's women.

Have a croissant as you read it. I know I did ;)

[Florien (flofairytales)]

5/20

The 5th wave
The 5th Wave

Review > Spoiler free

So, this book....
I wanted to give it a 4.75 because it is not really worth 5 stars to me, but its definitely not a 4 star book, so the rating I had to give it is 5 stars on Goodreads.

This book was such a joy to read, written from 3 different character p.o.v. and action packed all the way. There was not a dull moment in this book for me. I'll be honest, there were some parts which reminded me of other stories I've read, but then again the more books one reads the more that problem will occur.

Nonetheless I really like this book and I can't wait to see how accurate the movie follows the book, I also can't wait to get my hands on the 2nd book.

The whole Alien concept of the story (they were already here and have been for a long time) is quite cliché, I mean it isn't a new idea no author of sci-fi stories has ever tried before. I guess the challenge is to make it work and boy, Rick Yancey made it work.

Cassie is a great character too, very realistic. The whole I-love-Ben situation and then when she meets him during the start of the 5th wave is hilarious. Little Nugget a.k.a. Sammy being the driving force behind both of these characters was very on point and something I really liked.

I rushed through the ending of the book like that *snaps fingers* and when I closed the book I was thirsty for more....
I can only hope Evan is still alive....

Many thanks to my best friend who suggested this book :)

[Florien (flofairytales)]

6/20

For the first time ever, I listened to an audio book. I found it on Youtube and after doing some checking it turned out to be legit, so off I went and listened to an almost 5 hour woman talking about how decluttering your house can be life changing!

Review

"Does this book bring you joy?"

I don't think I've heard the sentence; "Does this bring you joy?" quite as often as I have as I listened to the Audio book version of this book.

I'll be honest I'm glad I listened to this book instead of buying the book. That doesn't mean I did not like this book (or that I sometimes wanted to kill the narrator because she spoke with such a robotic voice at times).

When I reached the part about getting rid of items and ask yourself 'does this particular item bring you joy?' I immediately thought of this hideous 50s style purple with bright pink polkadot dress which hangs in my closet and I have only worn once!.... in the store.

It does not bring me joy, I've never worn it... why the heck is it still in my closet.
Yeah in a way I do believe this book is something I chose to read/listen for a reason. I want to declutter my house but I can't seem to find a way to do so.

After I told my husband I was listening to this book and the tips Marie Kondo had, his exact words were; "Haven't I been telling you that for years?"
He's the one with 20 pairs of shoes and 70 pairs of shirts.

As a teacher I tend to have documents and papers all over the place. I'm great at organizing my lessons, but horrible at organizing stuff at home.

Effective tidying... discarding and figuring out where to store things.

I'll be honest when she explained her way of how she strategically tidies a house, my eyes opened wide. Why didn't I think of that?
Aside from the fact that I have to feeeeel the items when I decide what I wish to discard and what to keep... she does make a pretty good point.

Perhaps once I've succeeded in following her steps (which I am going to do, because I picked this book for a reason) the rating of this book will go from 3 to 4 stars....

[Florien (flofairytales)]

7/20

Dorian Gray, how you suddenly made your way onto my reading list is a mystery. There you were, skinny you, lying on one of the shelves for years simply waiting to be read. So I did....

Spoiler free

I don't think I've ever read a book of which the characters were (almost) all men. I saw the movie way before ever reading this book and that was quite different compared to the book. Where were all the women? Except for Sybil and Gladys, the book only vaguely and ever so shortly mentions anyone else.
The way these men talk/compliment/adore each other is quite...well, read it and you'll know (You've shown your true heart Mr. Oscar Wilde :) ).

Of course that is not what the story is about. Nope, it's about a pure soul being corrupted and smudged upon by an asshole named Lord Henry. In the end it is Dorian who makes the choice of falling for this Lord's words and in the end is also smart enough to end it.

The portrait of Dorian Gray is a good novel. Short, well written, interesting, poetic and supernatural. A classic you must read!

[Cassandra]

It looks like you're doing great, Florien! Good luck with your reading for the rest of the year.